Kelewen

♠ Showdowns & Saddles ♠

The woman looks pleased that Taylor chooses to sit with her. “I’m Petunia Krump,” she says, not the slightest bit shy. “I am going to be a teacher in Odessa. Are you going there for work too?” she asks Taylor.

Her gaze shifts to the pugilist training that is going on right in the aisle of the train and it rather obviously irks her that she should have to witness such uncouth behavior. She heaves an over-exaggerated sigh and tucks her purse closer to her lap. “I do wonder where some people were brought up…” she ‘whispers’ conspiratorially to Taylor, but isn’t terribly subtle about it and might easily be overheard by Finney and Sergio.

The woman with the baby takes a seat toward the front of the passenger car. It wakes and starts to cry and fuss. “Shhhhh….” She soothes it and rocks the child until it quiets again.

The rough, unshaven man takes the seat across from her where he proceeds to rest his head against the window glass as if it’s a comfortable pillow and closes his eyes.

"Excuse me," the well dressed man, anxious to sit as far away from odorous bodies and other undesirables as possible, works his way past the party to sit in the very back of the train car.

"All aboard!" called the conductor and one final man hurried to get on the train. He sported mutton chops overdue for a trim and his clothes were dusty, a strong whiff of both cow and horse emanating from him. He glanced around the passenger car at the various people before finding an empty seat.

The kid grabs his toy gun off of Mistihkoman, his eyes widening in a bit of awe as he takes in the various weapons hanging off the native man.

“I ain’t a Sheriff!” He declares after a moment's pause. “I'm a gunslinger!" He slides into the closest empty seat with a window that faces the platform and continues his game, now "shooting" anyone he saw on the platform as the train whistle sounded and it started moving slowly. Trying to sly about it, he frequently glances at Mistihkoman to see if the man is paying him any mind.

♠ Showdowns & Saddles ♠

What are we doing next?

@Landain

@BigPapaBelial, do you want another chance to post before I go again? (certainly no rush! :) )

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The kid grins as Sergio plays along. "Now give me all your money!" he starts to say before Taylor shows up.

"Hey!" the boy whined loudly as his wooden gun was knocked from his hand and disappeared somewhere under one of the seats on the train. But he shrinks back just slightly at the man's threat, quieting down, at least for the moment.

"Good!" exclaims the same woman who'd scolded the boy before, smiling with appreciation to Taylor. "Thank you, sir. There's really no need for such shenanigans here." She gets herself settled into a seat, but pays the boy no further mind. In fact, he doesn't seem to be traveling with any adults. "Would you care to sit here?" she asked Taylor, gesturing to the seat across from her.

"This is the right place yes? The trip to Odessa? Is the package already on board?"

Mistihkoman

Dan gives the native man a once over. "Already loaded in the express car," he replies, gesturing to the train car that is directly in front of the passenger car.

As Mistihkoman boards, he might overhear a muttered, "Boy, Grainger knows how to pick 'em, huh?"

As Finney and Billy are getting aboard and seated, a few others board as well:

A rough, unshaven man spits out his wad of chew on the wooden platform before heading toward the train. He pushes his way past a well dressed man, who scrunches up his face in disgust at the other man's smell. "Barbaric," the well-dressed man says, to no one in particular.

"A seat away from that one, please," the well dressed gentlemen says to the conductor.

"We'll find you a nice window seat, Mr. Charles," the friendly conductor replies, helping the man with his bag.

Besides the middle-aged woman who scolded the boy, there's another woman, younger and not unattractive, who holds a baby girl in her arms, rocking it gently. There's also a few men up near the engine and tender car, smoking and shootin' the breeze while they're waiting for the passengers to board and get settled. One of them obviously works the tender car as he is nearly covered in soot.

"We'll be ready in a few minutes, folks," says the smiling conductor to those aboard. "Right at 12:10, I think. I'm William, feel free to ask me if you need anything."

Serpent's Snag-A Supernatural Western

Hey PrankFox! In the setting, is the existence of the various supernatural groups common knowledge? Or are they somewhat 'underground' and many humans might not even believe they are real?

♠ Showdowns & Saddles ♠

Dan gave Sergio a good natured smile and a nod. Though it worried him just slightly that Sergio seemed to be almost trying to convince himself there wouldn't be trouble.

"Ain't expecting any," he said, glancing quickly toward the express car where another guard was stationed at the entrance to ensure no unauthorized persons gained access.

On the platform, a few passengers are beginning to board the passenger car. "Bang, bang, bang," a boy of about 7 is running back and forth on the platform, pretending to shoot at folks with his wooden toy gun.

"Boy, stop that this instant," scolds an older woman who obviously does not appreciate the child's foolishness. But the lad completely ignores her and "shoots" at the train conductor, who is busy greeting folks. "Oh! Got me!" the conductor grins, clutching his chest and mocks almost falling over before a quick recovery.

Encouraged, the boy turns his toy gun on Sergio. "Hey Mister! Stick 'em up!"

Inside the passenger car, the seats are in roughly this configuration and still pretty empty as folks are just beginning to board.

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Billy and/or Finney could probably arrange transport for the horses. (Though Grainger has not covered that expense)

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"Odessa's a little over a hundred miles. But don't worry! The train can have you there in less than a day. Then it's not far down to Coalriver."

He got up to walk them the short distance to the stairs, noticing Mr. Logan still there, still unconscious.

"I'll have a little chat with Mr Logan when he wakes up. There ain't too many places 'round here his bunch can get roostered, so I think I can make sure he won't bother you if he wants to be welcomed back here."

And, as promised, neither Mr Logan nor his thugs come calling that night in any attempt to settle the score.

---

♠ Chapter Two - 12:10 To Odessa ♠

It's shortly before the noon hour. A small crowd of people are beginning to gather and to board the Southern Pacific Railroad Line train.

"Ah!" Says a man wearing a guard uniform and carrying a rifle says when any of the PCs make it known who they are. "I'm Dan... Mr Grainger was here this morning and the crate has been loaded into the express car already."

From left to right:
1 - Engine
2 - Tender Car
3 - Express Car
4 - Passenger Car
5 & 6 - Freight
7 - Caboose

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I'm not trying to rush this scene to a close. Take all the time you want to either RP amongst the characters or to further question Grainger. Maybe just give me a heads up OOC when we're ready to jump ahead a bit? :)

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Bailey Grainger raised a brow at Taylor's comment, then smirked. "From my point of view, that young man saved your bacon down there. Or, someone's bacon, at least. That little derringer Logan was drawing might not have hit who he was aiming at it, but more than likely he would have hit somebody with it."

The man's offer extended to all 5 gathered in the room ... even Finney.

As Sergio accepted, Mr Grainger enthusiastically replied "Fantastic! Train leaves tomorrow and I know Wyatt's anxious to get it."

He scribbles on a sheet of paper to do the math of 30 divided by 5 (assuming they all accept). Then opens his desk drawer and begins counting out 4 separate piles of $6, mostly in a mix of morgan and liberty silver dollars, though mixed with some half dollars and quarters too. "Plus your train tickets, of course," he assures. "I'll take care of those first thing in the morning so they're ready for you tomorrow. It'll be the 12:10 to Odessa on the Southern Pacific Line. And I'll telegraph ahead to let Wyatt know you're on the way."

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"I can pay $80," Mr. Grainger answered Finney. "$30 now and I'll wire ahead to my brother and he'll pay the other fifty when you get there."

Then looked to Sergio. "It's some new and sophisticated mining equipment. It's heavy. And expensive." At least Billy, Sergio, Taylor, & Mistihkoman seemed plenty sturdy enough to muscle the crate around if and when they needed to. Finney didn't look like he'd spent much time lifting heavy items. But Grainger's offer extended to him as well.

"There's a train that goes to Odessa from here. I can cover your tickets of course. So really, I just need you to get it from the train station down to Coalriver and get it to my brother," he explained.